The basic operation of commercial radio broadcast stations is well known and well established in the art. In essence, broadcast stations function to create, purchase or otherwise acquire program material, often referred to as “content” or “content material” and to broadcast such program material. The broadcast station's goal is to provide program material which is of interest to radio listeners in order to motivate radio listeners toward selection of the station's programming. The overall motivation of creating or obtaining interesting and desirable program materials is rooted in the broadcast station's desire to sell advertising time in connection with such programs to various product or service advertisers.
In many instances, a number of radio stations are associated and/or combined in their operations through various groupings such as affiliations, common ownerships, network memberships or similar combinations. One of the advantages of such combinations or groupings, is found in the availability of shared program materials between related stations.
Because competition for radio listeners is active and intense, and because a given radio station's ability to sell advertising time at a profit is usually related directly to its listener base, radio stations have an enormous appetite for program material and program content. In many radio stations, a significant portion of the program material used to fill the broadcast schedule is created or produced by the staff members and artists of the radio station. While substantial variation of program material and content is available between different radio stations, many typical radio stations create their own program materials for content such as news and music programming. News and music programming often operates live during commuter time slots and relies upon real time newsbreaks, disc jockeys, weather and traffic updates together with pre-recorded music. Other typical program materials and content created by radio stations may involve live coverage of events such as sporting events or other events such as “late breaking news” which are best served by real time live coverage.
Notwithstanding a radio stations capability to produce and create significant amounts of program materials, an ever increasing number of radio stations have been compelled to obtain program materials or content from outside producers to fill out the broadcast day. These outside producers, often referred to as “content providers” generally operate as independent producers selling program material to a number of radio broadcasters. One factor driving this shift toward content providers is found in the reduction of staff occurring in many radio stations in response to economic pressures. As competition and economic pressures combine to force radio broadcast stations to reduce operating expenses, many radio stations have been forced to reduce their artistic and creative staff. This, in turn, has created a content void and a depletion of program content quality.
In response to the critical need for high quality program materials and program content, practitioner's in the radio art have created radio networks and studios which function as content providers rather than, as traditional, radio broadcasters. Such content providers are in the business of creating, marketing and supplying program content to radio broadcasters.
Production studios operated by such content providers often utilize relatively basic audio studio systems to produce program materials. The content providers then package the content material, format the material and transfer it to one or more radio broadcasters. One of the serious limitations facing production studio operators is found in the lack of efficient audio production, audio processing and communication systems. of necessity, program material provided for radio broadcast must be extremely clear and high in quality to meet consumer demands.
Unfortunately, production studio operators and content providers are, for the most part, forced to utilize service providers and contracted facilities which are dispersed and widely separated. Typically, different services and facilities are owned and operated by independent providers. This dispersal and separation of service providers used by production studio operators and content producers, in turn, requires that audio materials be transferred between several service providers and facility locations. The result is often excessive production costs, reduced studio efficiency and reduced quality of program materials and content.
There arises therefore, a continuing and unfulfilled need in the art for more effective audio production, satellite uplink and radio broadcast studios which overcome the foregoing described deficiencies of prior art systems. There arises a concurrent need in the art for improved audio production, satellite uplink and radio broadcast studios which are efficient and effective for operation by radio broadcast stations and operation by content providers.